Page 4 of Which Witch Is Wicked?
If only Bane hadn’t fucked up. If only he’d let Tierra die.
When the cabin came into view, Dru slowed his pace, allowing his heart rate to even out and his mind to settle. He and his fellow Horsemen had to solve their dilemma. Or someone would do it for them.
He found Nick outside, rapidly firing arrow after arrow into the trunk of a massive pine. The tree shuddered from the constant barrage.
“We’ve got problems,” Dru said as he passed, not bothering to stop to impart further information as he continued toward the house.
Inside, Dru found Julian sitting in the leather armchair he’d claimed as his own. His eyes were closed. Dramatic classical music encompassed the silent spaces in the room, rising to a crescendo as Dru approached the stereo system. He hit the power button, bringing back the blessed silence.
Julian did not open his eyes.
“Do you really think what you’ve done was a wise idea, Roarke?” Dru asked.
“To what are you referring?” Julian asked, keeping his repose.
“What did he do?” Nick brought up the rear, and Dru was sure if he needed it, Nick would have his back.
“Damn pestilence and plagues,” Dru nearly shouted at Julian. “I’ve just returned from doing recon on the witches’ house. Imagine my surprise when a plague of seagulls dropped salmon bombs from the sky like they were bird shit. Appeared to be centered solely on ground zero.” Dru tried to rein in his anger. “Now is not the time for petty games, Roarke. I’d like to know the expected outcome of that tactic.”
Julian inhaled and straightened, pinning Dru with crystal blue eyes. “Sorry, chap. My plagues tend more toward toads and boils. Birds and fish lie in another purview altogether.”
“It had to be you. Who else?”
Julian shrugged, seemingly uninterested and innocent, but Dru knew behind those eyes rested an infinite amount of knowledge and the power to wipe out entire civilizations. “Perhaps you’d care to impart more information so I might make an informed estimate,” Julian replied.
“Could have been Bane.” Nick grabbed an apple from the bar and claimed a seat on the leather couch. “The Fourth Seal has been opened, bringing forth Hell and the beasts.”
“Speaking of hell, where is Bane?” Dru asked. He should have been there with the rest of them trying to solve their problems. “He’d better not be out getting another piece of ass.”
“He’s collecting souls.” Just as Nick answered, the front door opened, and Killian Bane strode in, his expression darker than the obsidian that washed up on the nearby shores.
He slammed the door behind him hard enough to rattle the paintings on the wall. “Fucking druggies. If women want to be reckless, they should be sterilized so they can’t procreate.”
“Another child casualty?” Julian drawled, and then smiled at the other men. “He’s become so sensitive now that he’s going to be a daddy.”
“Fuck you,” Bane spat as he headed straight for the bar.
“You’ve got to toughen up, Bane.” Nick never could resist a good opportunity for provocation. It wasn’t in his nature. “Can’t have a soft spot for the kids. You need to man up. Take care of shit. Especially your own shit.”
“Fuck you, too.” He tossed back a shot of Silver Patrón and poured another.
Dru shook his head. “You shouldn’t have intervened, Bane. Should have let them both die. The fates had interceded on our behalf, and you should have let it be. The world tried to correct itself, and you stopped it. Now who knows what kind of shit storm you’ve created with your selfishness.”
Bane sent him a murderous look. “Don’t make me take your soul, too.”
“I wish you could.” Dru eyed the man, understanding the depths of pain he experienced.
“The prophecy never mentioned a child.” Julian shifted, turning his pensive gaze out the window to the lush greenery surrounding them. “For all we know, it could be the spawn of Satan. A soulless wonder, to be sure.”
The rest of them turned their gazes to Julian as a wave of uncertainty rolled through the room. “Never mention her name,” Dru said.
The last thing they needed was Lucifer taking them to task for failing. She was a difficult bitch to handle on a good day.
“Dru’s right.” Nick spoke in lowered tones. “I’d swear the woman has listening devices planted across the universe informing her when she becomes the topic of conversation. I can’t begin to imagine what would happen should she find out about Bane’s offspring.”
“She can’t know.” Bane drew his fingers through his ragged hair. “Ever.”
Bingo, Dru thought. If Lucy discovered their failures, they were all doomed. “I didn’t mention anything when I talked to her today. Told her we were in operations mode and that she shouldn’t worry.”
